Greetings from Bayreuth

My morning started with a 7:45 a.m. bus ride to Weiden, which is about 10 minutes from where Kim lives. Needless to say, the bus driver was not very friendly to me when I asked him in English if this bus will take me to the Weiden train station. Five times the driver repeated something to me in German and I finally said I don’t understand, and his response in perfect English was something along the lines of yes, this bus will take me to the train station.

Honestly, there are just a few instances where I can say German people have not been helpful, and this is one of those instances. Anyway, moving right along to the train station, I boarded the 8:35 train to Bayreuth which arrived at 9:28 to be exact. After a quick phone call to Kim and directions to the nearest TI (tourist information) I was on my way. When I arrived at TI, which was about 10 minutes down the road (and a few extra turns; my sense of direction is not that good!)

I approached a young person, because Kim always says they understand English the best, and started planning my day in town. Long story even longer, there was another person who understood English better and she came to assist, as the first girl was getting more confused the longer I talked and asked questions. Unfortunately I cannot remember her name, not that it’s important now, but she suggested the audio tour through the city. When I agreed and handed her my license (because ID is required to checkout equipment), she commented on my Ohio license saying she grew up in Ft. Wayne Indiana which prompted my comment of growing up in Whiting Indiana. The conversation began to flow comfortably as each of us shared our experiences of what brought us to Germany. After several minutes of chit chatting I was ready to tour the city of Bayreuth.

I had approximately six hours to walk around town, taking in sites I was interested in before returning the audio guide and taking a 10 minute bus ride to another highly recommended site by my TI guide. The audio city tour was quite entertaining as the commentary was given by Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia (a German composer and sister to Frederick the Great) and Richard Wagner (German composer). The audio tour provided fascinating history of the town, as well as information about museums, churches, an opera house, gardens, water fountains, government buildings, castles, a hermitage, and many other points of interest. My favorite points of interested included the New Palace and Court Garden (unfortunately pictures were not allowed), the 18th century Margravial Opera house, and the Hermitage and Court Garden both of which I will include pictures.

I spent an enjoyable day walking through the town of Bayreuth and Kim picked me up about 6:45 p.m. at the Hermitage and Court Garden’s. Unfortunately there were a few things I missed so I’m considering a second day trip to include the Sanspareil Rock Garden and Swernitz Castle.
We’ll see if my busy travel schedule allows for another day trip to Bayreuth. One last comment, this small house nestled in between the two large homes is actually a little over two meters, which is about 6 feet wide is currently lived in today. Could you imagine?

Greetings from Nuremberg!

June 24, 2010
Greetings from Nuremberg! Nuremberg is a large city about 1 hour and 15 minutes from where Kim lives. So, Thursday morning I decide to take a drive, with the navigator of course because I cannot go anywhere without it due to the language barrier and all. So I’m ready to go and do you think I can find the program in the nav (slang for navigator) to get to Nuremberg. That took about 10 minutes of pressing all kinds of buttons and waiting for something familiar to show up on the screen. Because those of you who know me well, this is just another version of the TV remote control and I will push any buttons until something happens. I was just getting ready to call Kim when obviously I pressed the right button and I was ready to travel (couldn’t do it again if I needed to).

So, I need to be in Nuremberg for a 1:00 tour of the city in English, otherwise forget the tour because I can barely figure out hello and good-bye. Well, honestly I have those two words down but not much beyond that. In fact, people just start talking to me and I’m sure I look at them with this blank face because I want to talk (everyone knows that) I just have no idea what is being said to me. Then I say something like “I only speak English” and they continue in German. I guess that’s my big clue we’re not going to have a conversation. Anyway, the neighbor lady “Oma” which is grandma (thanks Sheryn!) greets me often and asks for Kim. Now, she speaks fast German and knows I have no idea what she’s saying; by the way, she knows no English either. When she asks about Kim, I respond like she understands me and she continues talking! Like I get what she is talking about. And, they when I just stand there and look at her, because I don’t want to be rude and walk away (though I feel sort of rude because I have no idea what she is saying and I just sort of nod my head), she throws her hands up in the air and gets (what I would assume) frustrated. Now, this isn’t the first time it’s happened; at least the third, so who’s not getting here – her or me. Anyway, I think I’m going to run the opposite direction and lock the door the next time I see her; enough about my lack of the German language. Let’s chat about my driving skills. Okay, so far I’m not finding it too terribly difficult to drive on the autobahn. And yes, there are places on the autobahn with speed limits but far more without. I don’t find the drivers rude or reckless but they do like to drive fast! When I was driving to Nuremberg (remember that’s what this whole note is supposed to be about), it was very easy to keep up with the traffic and when I glanced down, I saw I was driving 135 k, which is a little over 80 mph.

Now, that’s a little fast for me but somewhere in my head I hear my sister saying “that’s slow, you can driver faster”. Germany does not have many rules when driving; however, if you are driving over 130 k and get in an accident, you will be cited for excessive speed, even if you didn’t cause the accident because “speed is always a factor in a car accident”. Anyone find this surprising? I didn’t think so. So, the average speed on the autobahn is 120 k, which is very workable for me. I don’t need to be driving faster than 70 mph. And, where it really makes a difference is everywhere else; the speeds are usually slower than would be expected; 20-30 mph and on some roads only 40 mph. Enough about the driving, let’s get back to Nuremberg. I arrived in the city shortly before noon, thinking I had plenty of time. The parking is difficult, mostly because I can’t read any of the signs that tell me whether or not I can park here! The first few places I stop, I’m thinking “no parking” for some reason; just doesn’t look like I’m allowed.

Finally I found a friendly looking person and said “Do you speak English?” Success! I’m thinking I’m in the ball park. She says I can park here, just get a ticket from the machine. Off to the machine I go, and surprise, surprise, I can’t read the directions because they’re in German. Once again, I add money, start pressing buttons to see what happens, amazingly there are some words I understand (you paid too much) and I continuing pressing more buttons and it refunds my money and no parking ticket. And then I notice, in teeny tiny font size 8, light green lettering in English! Yeah, I’m thinking. And then I continue to read and I’m at a 2 hour parking limit spot. Not going to work for me; I need at least four hours. No wonder it kept giving me my money back. No I’m armed and ready to find a parking spot because I now know what the signs say (thanks to the nice lady) and I can locate the ticket box and read the information! Several stops later I finally find a 24 hour parking spot. Off to the next task. Find the information tourist site before 1:00; I’ve got about 25 minutes so this should be no problem. Again, it would be so helpful if I could read the signs. At least this time I’m in the large market area with tons of people at my disposal. I choose a friendly looking person, who should be able to speak English and start with the question and answering again. Finally I locate the building and surprisingly I was not the far off base; less than a block. In the tourist information, everyone speaks English and I’m able to chat away, getting a ticket for the tour than now begins in 15 minutes. It’s amazing how difficult it is to find the simplest things when you don’t know the language. So, I joined this small group of 10 for a tour around Nuremberg, learning the history of the city, along with the new and old traditions. As with any city, there are always the facts and fables. We visited several churches, saw the city hall and commerce, as well as the hot spots to eat their famous little sausages. No joke, it’s now a law in the city that the sausages can be no wider than the little finger (whose I’m not sure) and no longer than 5 inches (I think). Anyway, this city is famous for their sandwiches that have six little sausages on them and they are yummy!Famous buildings were pointed out as well as monuments and their famous water fountain. We ended our tour with a visit to the local castle. I was a nice way to see the city and learn a little of its history. Hope you enjoy the pictures. Kim and I are leaving for Berlin tonight (Friday) and will return Sunday. Enjoy your weekend (I will).

Greetings from Flossenburg!

June 23, 2010
Greetings from Flossenburg! Flossenburg is a town north about 20 minutes where my sister lives. It’s a small town with much history. This is the site of a work concentration camp where some 100,000 prisoners were held by the SS (Shield Squadron of the Nazi Party) at the concentration camp between 1938 and 1945. At least 30,000 prisoners died at this camp. When the US Army liberated in camp in 1945 they found only 1500 ill and malnourished prisoners in camp; other prisoners were sent by the SS on death marches. In the beginning the camp was used to labor in the granite quarries. Towards the end of WWII they made aircraft parts for a company. The site has a few preserved buildings; otherwise there is a museum which gives detailed information to read and has some authentic pieces to learn from. The walking tour took about 4 hours (because I like to read every sign posted and all the information in the museum), which also includes a movie (in English) about former inmates who remembered and shared their stories about the work camp. Along with this, in the basement of the museum is a memorial for those who entered the camp. It was both an educational and emotional experience.
Still remaining at the site is the original perimeter fence, along with several watch towers and the main headquarters, which housed the administration (officers) of Flossenburg concentration camp.

The laundry and prisoners’ bathroom, in addition to the crematorium are the only remaining buildings on site once housed by the prisoners who were mostly from Poland, the Soviet Union, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and a several other countries (totaling 30).There are several cemeteries of honor, a Jewish Memorial, the Pyramid of Ashes, and the Square of Nations (which represents countries and how many were lost). At the top of grounds is a Chapel overlooking the site. It really is a sad and yet somehow interesting place. I have provided a link for more information about Flossenburg Concentration Camp located here: http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/othercamps/flossenburg.html

Greetings from Prague!

June 19-20
Greetings from Prague! Kim, Elizabeth (a friend of Kim’s), and I left for Prague on Saturday morning around 7:30 a.m. We arrived shortly before 9:30 a.m. however, we had a difficult time locating our hotel, THE SILENZIO; that took almost a half hour, even with the navigator. The hotel is nestled in the trees and side roads of Prague. It’s a beautiful hotel in a secluded location. The hotel is located in a gated community, as car theft in Prague is a highly lucrative business (so says my sister). We checked in, parked our car, and headed for the underground subway into the city. It was about a 15 minute walk a 5 minute ride into Prague. First on the list of visits was the Jewish Quarter. We quickly realized everything was closed because of the Sabbath, so that would be Sunday’s visit. Continuing our walk, we happened upon a piece of art work comprised of over 85,000 keys. The artwork was made by Vodafone, a large phone company (sort of like Verizon to us). We continued our walk to the clock tower located in the center of the square. On the way, we saw the end of a wedding and watched as people congratulated the bride and groom. Throughout the walk we passed beautiful buildings with large windows, arches, columns, painted and unpainted with art work on the walls, and sculptured windows. Along with this, the buildings are tall and built close together and are many different colors (from orange to yellow, to green and blue). And, let’s not forget the orange roofs on almost all the buildings. The monuments and castles throughout the city are absolutely beautiful!

The clock tower is located in Old Town Square.We took an elevator to the top for better sightseeing of the city. Every hour the clock chimes, the apostles appear in the window. There’s a skeleton playing music, a miser and the profligate, and the science of astronomy. The clock shows the years, months, days, and hours along with the rising and setting of the sun and moon. The earth is painted in the center of the clock face. And, believe it or not, I met two guys from Ohio, one from the Columbus area and the other from Toledo. Who would have thought? Riding around the clock tower were several people on a five person bike; that was pretty cool, one guy doing all the work for the other passengers. After watching the clock (every hour if you would like) we listened to a group of men sing a variety of songs. It appeared to be a traveling group and they entertained the crowd.


We continued walking around the city, in and out of places that captured our interest including a museum, a variety of novelty shops, bakeries, and an outside market. We stopped for a few moments to eat a fresh fruit salad at the market before continuing our afternoon of sightseeing. On our way to the visitors center, we did a little window shopping at Cartier; no souvenirs from there! The three of us took a horse and carriage ride around the city as well; it was an opportunity to see other parts of the downtown area after a long afternoon of walking. Some of the most memorable stores included Dior, Louis Vuitton, Hugo Boss (men’s clothing), and Burberry (out of England/famous plaids) to name a few. After a little more sightseeing we had a lovely dinner at Pravda, located in the Jewish Quarter. As most of you know I almost always choose a chicken meal when eating out. However, I walked on the wild side that night and thought while in Prague how about experiencing something traditionally. So, I ate Old Czech Beef Goulash and it was yummy.

After dinner we went to St. Nicholas church for a tour and to listen to the New Prague Symphony. It was an hour long music program listening to the trumpet, violin, and cello. The church tour was shorter. The ceiling dome celebrates the Holy Trinity and the ceiling in the nave represents the Glorification of St. Nicholas; the church is gorgeous. About this time, it was a little after 9:00 p.m. so we headed to the Town Square to watch the World Cup game. It was Denmark and Cameroon. The game was shown on a huge screen. It was fun to watch the crowd getting into the game, cheering and making noise. Of course, I cheered when they cheered and booed when they booed. We started walking back to the Metro station after watching the game for about 20-30 minutes; it was a long day and we were tired. Sunday morning we began our day bright and early. We arrived at the Prague Castle around 11:00. Now, it began much earlier in the morning but once we ended up on the wrong trolley and took the longer tour around the city of Prague, especially the parts you don’t see from the downtown area, arriving at the castle took a little longer than expected. However, we did arrive after two trolley rides later. And, Kim and Elizabeth got off and I almost missed getting off because the back door was stuck! What a mess that would have been; delaying the visit to the castle even longer. Anyway, luckily I got off the trolley with my sister and headed toward the castle. We took several tours at the castle. The most beautiful was St. George basilica. It’s the second biggest church in Prague Castle. It was built around 920 by a Prince. In 973 a convent was founded next to the church. Mlada, the sister of Boleslav II brought the first Benedictine nuns to Bohemia. The nave of St. George’s basilica has beautiful windows and art work, in addition to housing a crypt underneath. A few other tours included the residence and great hall. We were able to tour the outside of the St. Vitus cathedral but not inside. The outside architectural of the castle is beautiful; the mosaic in the front represents the Last Judgment. Inside the cathedral are scenes from the life of SS. Cyril and Methodius; guess that will be the next visit which is tentatively scheduled around July 4th.

After leaving the castle, we began our journey to The Charles Bridge; awesome, awesome!The bridge is a walking bridge lined with statues and crosses. Although there are various artists along the bridge selling painting, pictures of art, jewelry, etc. it does not distract from the beauty and meaning of the statues. I’m guessing there are approximately 25 statues of saints and crosses. At the very end of the bridge there is a bronze statue of Christ hanging on the cross with St. John the Evangelist and the Virgin Mary on either side. It was said that before losing his/her head the victim knelt and prayed for the last time.
The Charles Bridge took us to the Little Quarter for more shopping and sightseeing. We did a little of each before stopping to eat pizza at an outside restaurant. By then it was after 4:00 and time to start heading home. Before leaving Prague, Kim needed to stop at IKEA to pick-up a few things. The funny thing is, I have never been to an IKEA in the states but have managed to visit two already in Europe, one in Germany and the other in Prague. And, I kind of like their stores. We arrived home sometime around 7:30-8:00 ish. It was a great weekend. Believe it or not, I took 300 pictures. I can’t imagine what I’m going to do this weekend when I spend two days in Berlin. I’m going to attach some memorable pictures of Prague. Hope you can view them.

Greetings from Kim's House

I'm going to try the blog thing while visiting Europe this summer. As you all know, I love to chat - and this is the perfect forum for us to talk!

Greetings from Germany!

June 14, 2010
I made it to Germany! First, I arrived at Columbus airport to a delayed trip to Washington DC by an hour and a half. No problem. Just sit around, drink tea and people watch. It was a fun way to pass the time. Anyway, I boarded the plane and was assured we’d be on time to DC; not to worry I would make my connecting flight. Well, the plane landed at 4:55 p.m. my connecting flight to Munich was at 5:30; maybe I could make it, especially if the departure gate was next door. No such luck! By the time the ramp arrived to take us off the plane (which was late and broken) we did not unload until 5:25 p.m. which means I missed my connect flight. No problem says United. We’ll send you out of the 8:11 flight to Frankfurt. To the main counter I go, which is several gates away and housing at least 30 people by the time I arrive. I wasn’t the only one who missed my flight to Germany. United also cancelled a flight due to weather and was in the process of re-booking the entire flight. Yeah! Nice long line. Luckily everyone was in a good mood and pleasant to be around. After waiting two hours in line, yes two, I finally reached the ticket counter. Guess what?

The 8:11 plane to Germany was full; not surprised at this point. No problem says the United worker. We’ve got a plane going to Frankfurt at 10:00 p.m. with a connecting flight to Munich the following day. We’ll give you a standby seat; however, you should have no problem getting on this flight but just in case, let me book you a ticket for the following evening at the same time. I’m thinking great – I’m spending the evening at the airport (I will never get a standby ticket). By the way, she says, you’re number three so it shouldn’t be a problem, really. So, there I wait. Again, drinking tea, talking on the phone and people watching until around 9:45 when my name is called and YES! I have seat on the plane. Unfortunately the flight was (surprise, surprise) delayed an hour – just my luck. I’m starting to wonder if I’m going to make my connecting flight to Munich at 1:30 the following afternoon but am less worried because I also know there is a flight leaving at 3:30; my bases are covered for getting to my sister. We board the plane, finally take off around 11 p.m. and the pilot assured us he will make up the time in flight. Okay, I’m thinking this is cutting it close. Anyway, the story ends by landing at 12:50 p.m. in Frankfurt, going through security twice, walking 50 gates quickly, getting a boarding pass, and calling my sister all before boarding the plane at 1:30; I was almost the last passenger on board but I made it!

Kim waited no longer than ten minutes for me. She greeted me with a hug and a much appreciated cup of tea! The drive to her place took less than two hours. The scenery is beautiful! We ate a simple pizza dinner, sat around and talked for a few hours, and then called it an early evening. I had a relaxing day on Wednesday and Thursday, reading a book and trying to figure out email (I think I will do a blog). Of course, “blogging” will be new to me but probably the easiest way to keep everyone informed. We’ve got travel plans this weekend to Prague – can’t wait.